Brianna Exemplifies Spirit of Giving in Our Programs

For National Volunteer Week, we’re shining the light on a teen volunteer who has spent 600+ hours contributing to our programs in the last five years. A junior at Marin Catholic High School, Brianna Dagnino estimates she has spent 600+ hours volunteering with Homeward Bound in the past five years.

“My family is just very community-minded,” she says. They started in 2018 by organizing the holiday meal at Warner Creek Senior Housing in Novato, where our staff coordinates services for 60 residents.

During the pandemic, Brianna delivered sandwiches every Monday and brought meals from our kitchen for people sheltering at home around Novato. With her family, she organized holiday gifts for our families and helped assemble furniture for an interim shelter.

Over the past year, she has served dinner once a month at Jonathan’s Place, our adult shelter in San Rafael.

“I feel like it’s not something I do for recognition. I just like giving to others, it’s my way of loving. I want to keep volunteering until I leave for college,” she says. Brianna also serves on the Marin County Youth Court and is part of the cheer team at Marin Catholic.

Brianna says her mother and father, who founded the Ayawaska restaurants in Petaluma and Novato, have always been supportive. “My parents immigrated to the States from Peru. My Dad always said that if we can provide help to our community, we should. It’s now our time to help others, since at one point my parents were the ones that needed help,” she says.

“Brianna is a humble and giving human being,” says Monina Hamilton, our Service Coordinator at Warner Creek. “Our seniors simply adore Brianna’s spirit of giving and creating positivity.”